Who owns the story of a community and what happens when that story is told by outsiders?
How can words and images be weaponized to make young people look like a threat instead of a resource?
In what ways do public narratives shape real-world laws, school rules, and community policies?
Focus: Critical media literacy, decoding subtext, and tracing narrative to public policy.
Standards: RI.7-8.1, RI.7-8.4, RH.7-8.1, RH.7-8.4
Summary: Scholars begin by investigating the concept of "Public Narratives" and how media representations frame societal perceptions of youth. Using a Glossary of Coded Terms, scholars analyze historical media panics—such as the 1990s "Superpredator" coverage—and use red highlighters to isolate connotative and exclusionary language (at-risk, delinquent, thug). They then analyze visual media framing (camera angles, lighting, status) from archival photos of youth movements (e.g., the 1968 East L.A. Walkouts). The week concludes by mapping how these sensationalized "threat narratives" directly drove punitive policies, including school zero-tolerance rules, dress codes, and municipal curfews.
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